Books Make A Difference

For a few years in my childhood my mother owned a boutique and right next to that boutique was a bookstore. My mom would pick us up from school and take us back to her store. I was so excited because instead of helping my mom or doing homework like I was supposed to, I would go to the bookstore, find a corner (with the permission of the shop owner, of course) and just escape into the amazing world of books. I read as many books as I could get my hands on, for hours on end until they had to ask me to leave because the store was closing.

It’s no secret amongst my friends and family members that I am a bookworm. I love to read and consider myself blessed to be living in an age where information is so readily available.I remembered as a child always having my head in a book, on long road trips and even at parties and family gatherings. English Literature and Creative Writing were two of my favorite classes in school.

That passion to read and learn continues today in my adult life. Books make a difference, as they have shaped who I am with respect to the various roles I play in my life – wife, blogger, business owner and most definitely mother.

I was fortunate enough to marry a man who loves to read as much as I do, even though our tastes in books are quite different. When we became parents, we both agreed that reading to our children would become a part of our parenting routine. We were blessed to have a great head start on this by receiving many, many books from friends and family before and after the birth of our two sons.

Books are a daily part of our lives and they have contributed to a wonderful and special relationship with our children. We started reading to our sons when they were about 7 or 8 months old, old enough to sit up. We read to them in the morning, in the afternoon before naptime, and at nighttime before they got to bed. It is a special bonding time that is peaceful, calm and uninterrupted with our children.

They both love to read and it is wonderful to see how much they learn from reading. Our oldest can recite the words of an entire book – Little Blue Truck – from memory because of how many times we’ve read it to him. He’s learnt his ABCs, numbers, colors and shapes all from reading. One night when our youngest was 15 months old, I picked out a random book about numbers and counting. He absolutely loved it and would ask for it repeatedly at naptime and bedtime. Three months later on our family vacation in Florida, he surprised us all by counting to ten as he was walking down the stairs! I had no idea that he even count. He too knows his ABCs, can count up to 13 and is learning words, colors and shapes.

My sons and I reading Finding Nemo before bedtime.

There is nothing that gives us greater joy that to snuggle with our kids at naptime and at night time and read their favorite books with them. We can tell they love it too – if we ever tried to put them to bed without reading at least one book – oh my do they protest indeed! It does not go over well.

Specific books that have helped me as a Mom

The No Cry Sleep Solution – When my oldest was born, I had no idea what I was doing and he wouldn’t sleep. He would only take 30-minute naps and would wake up every 2-3 hours at night. I was utterly exhausted and could barely function.

Of course, being the bookworm that I am, I turned to books for help and came across this gem. I learnt so much from this book about how babies sleep and the importance of establishing a nighttime routine. This book served as the catalyst for our daily naptime/nighttime readings. I am continually recommending this book to my friends who mention their kids aren’t sleeping well.

How have books made a difference in your life in in your role as a parent? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below :).

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8 thoughts on “Books Make A Difference”

Oh how my family loves books! When I got married, I brought 14 boxes of books with me. And my husband already had a sizeable collection of his own.

Have you heard of Andrew Pudewa? His thoughts on how important reading aloud is to children’s ability to write is simply fascinating. Check out the brand new Read Aloud Revival podcast for an interview with him!

Gretchen you and I are so alike! I bought all my books with me when I moved to Oregon and have yet to part with any of them. I ave not heard of Andrew Pudewa but will definitely check him out. Thank you as always for your wealth of knowledge :).

We’re beyond the baby & toddler books here, but books are still so important. Whether it’s reading aloud or handing books to my children to go off and read on their own, a book is always worth the investment.

Shecki I totally agree. I have to thank my parents, my mother in particular, for instilling that value in me. She was always willing to buy me books and would make the sacrifices to do so. We went without a lot, but books were always a priority! It warms my heart so much that my boys love to read just as much as the hubs and I do.

I love reading to my kids too. I love the way the routine of it settles them down for sleep. I love the way it opens up conversations and questions. I love the way reading can take you to a different time period, a different culture… in a way my own explaining never could. I love the way it cranks the wheels of their imaginations.

Ramble away Amanda! I can definitely relate – books take our mind out of the present and into an entirely different world. Isn’t it amazing how reading to a child can calm their demeanor so quickly? I mostly read non fiction books these days, but oh my when I was a girl fiction books were my world. I think that’s why I excelled at creative writing because I always had my nose in a book :).

I get to be the proud Grandmother of these two young boys, James and Dominic, Chrissy and CJ’s children, and I have to say that I love to read books with these two little guys. We read everytime they are with Grandma. And they have favorite books here too: James, Who Will Be My Friends, Wuzzby, The Little Mouse The Red Ripe Strawberry and The Big Hungry Bear, The Napping House, The Toy Circus-These are books from CJ’s childhood along with many more of them. Dom favorites are At the Zoo, Eyes and Nose Fingers and Toes, Bubbles Bubbles, Nighty Night, and Trici Turtle. As you can see there is nothing better then reading together!